NBC Dumps ‘Hannibal,’ ‘Aquarius’ to Weekend for Low Ratings

Although these two shows have very different places at NBC — one was recently canceled, while the other was recently renewed — the network has decided to treat both equally due to their common trait: low ratings.

According to Variety, NBC is moving both the recently canceled “Hannibal” and the newly renewed “Aquarius,” current shows on the network’s Thursday night lineup, to time slots on Saturday, one of the lowest days of the week for television viewing. The network seems to be owing this to the low ratings of both shows, but it still seems odd nonetheless that they’re giving this treatment to a series that will, presumably, have value for them next season.

“Aquarius,” a historical fiction show starring David Duchovny as a detective who faces off against Charles Manson and his “family,” has only delivered a 0.4 rating in the 18-49 adult demographic. “Hannibal,” the critically-acclaimed adaptation of author Thomas Harris’ Red Dragon novel, has delivered similar numbers in its Thursday time slot, and was canceled last month. Although recent efforts were made to save the series by moving it to another home, showrunner Bryan Fuller recently revealed that both Netflix and Amazon passed on the creation of a fourth season.

While it’s not particularly surprising for a show like “Hannibal” to be moved to a different day of the week to finish out its run on the network, it seems a curious choice for NBC to do the same to another show that they’ve committed to for another year. Saturday is one of the network’s lowest profile days of the week, with the network pulling a similar move for the series “Crossbones” last summer, where it aired its final episodes on Saturday before its cancellation.

For more on “Hannibal,” you can watch the show’s full panel from Comic-Con International right here. For more news on the show as it may develop, keep your eyes on GeekNation.